Require insurance companies to tell truth

Montana health insurers continue to paint an inaccurate picture of air ambulances services in the state. Repeatedly they have failed to explain why Montana citizens pay sky-high insurance premiums, only to end up with large balance bills after they’ve been faced with a critical illness or injury that required an emergency air transport. After all, didn’t they purchase health insurance as a form of financial protection?

The Montana Economic Affairs Interim Committee along with the State Auditors office has been conducting a series of hearings related to air ambulance issues. A great deal of information has come to light in those hearings that is in conflict with much of the misleading information that has been put forth by some of the insurance companies.

According to national data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services presented at the hearings, prices for emergency helicopter transports in Montana are in line with the rest of the country, not outrageously inflated as some insurers would have you believe. The only thing that is different about Montana, is that the insurance companies have found a way to not pay for the majority of the cost, even though the patient has been paying insurance premiums believing they had coverage.